The reciprocal relationships between head teachers’ negotiation management behavior, teacher-student relationship and primary school students’ externalizing problem behaviors from grade four to six: A cross-lagged study

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.01120

Abstract

Abstract:

In order to explore the reciprocal relationships between head teachers’ negotiation management behavior and teacher-student relationship and students’ externalizing problem behavior, 1407 primary school students from grade 4 to grade 6 were investigated by questionnaires at three different periods in one school year. The results of cross-lag analysis show that: (1)Head teachers’ negotiation management behavior drove the positive interaction cycle; head teachers’ negotiation management behavior (T1) reduced students’ externalizing problem behavior (T2), improved the closeness of the teacher-student relationship(T2), and decreased the conflicts of the teacher-student relationship (T2), which further affected head teachers’ negotiation management behavior (T3), teacher-student relationship (T3) and students’ externalizing problem behaviors (T3). (2) Students’ externalizing problem behaviors drove the negative interaction cycle; students’ externalizing problem behaviors (T1) reduced head teachers’ negotiation management behavior (T2), decreased the closeness of the teacher-student relationship (T2), and increased the conflicts of the teacher-student relationship (T2), which further affected students’ externalizing problem behaviors (T3), teacher-student relationship (T3), and head teachers’ negotiation management behavior (T3). The results support the Transactional Model, and suggest that head teachers need to be aware of the negative “driver” role of students’ externalizing problem behaviors, and consciously use the positive “driver” role of negotiation management behavior to break the negative cycle driven by students’ externalizing problem behaviors.

Key words: head teachers’ negotiation management behavior, students’ externalizing problem behaviors, teacher-student relationship, reciprocal relations, cross-lagged study

XIE Qili, ZHENG Huizhen, JIANG Guangrong, REN Zhihong, FAN Yanfei, LIU Jiahuai, ZHANG Wen. (2021). The reciprocal relationships between head teachers’ negotiation management behavior, teacher-student relationship and primary school students’ externalizing problem behaviors from grade four to six: A cross-lagged study. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 53(10), 1120-1132.

Figures/Tables 5

Table 1 Participants’ demographic information such as grade, gender, age, etc.

Grade	male	female	Total	Age (M ± SD, years)
4	142	143	285	9.76 ± 0.69
5	274	235	509	10.59 ± 0.64
6	314	299	643	11.55 ± 0.76
Total	730	677	1407	10.84 ± 0.99

Table 2 Mean, standard deviation, and correlation of head teachers’ negotiation management behavior, teacher-student relationship and primary school students’ externalizing problem behavior in grade 4~6

Variables	M ± SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1. Age	10.84 ± 0.99	1
2. Gender	—	0.06^*	1
3. ES	3.11 ± 0.70	-0.05	0.03	1
4. Origin	0.50 ± 0.50	0.07^*	0.02	0.40^***	1
5. T1 NMB	4.45 ± 0.66	0.04	-0.05	0.17^***	0.20^***	1
6. T2NMB	4.48 ± 0.67	0.02	-0.06^*	0.16^***	0.17^***	0.43^***	1
7. T3 NMB	4.44 ± 0.73	-0.01	-0.05	0.11^***	0.18^***	0.43^***	0.55^***	1
8. T1 Closeness	5.28 ± 1.35	-0.01	-0.02	0.19^***	0.27^***	0.53^***	0.43^***	0.43^***	1
9. T2Closeness	5.31 ± 1.39	-0.01	0.01	0.15^***	0.26^***	0.37^***	0.58^***	0.50^***	0.54^***	1
10. T3Closeness	5.33 ± 1.40	0.01	0.01	0.19^***	0.29^***	0.34^***	0.44^***	0.62^***	0.51^***	0.63^***	1
11. T1 Conflict	2.19 ± 1.15	0.04	0.15^***	-0.13^***	-0.19^***	-0.34^***	-0.30^***	-0.30^***	-0.39^***	-0.32^***	-0.32^***	1
12. T2 Conflict	2.14 ± 1.17	0.03	0.08^**	-0.17^***	-0.28^***	-0.27^***	-0.43^***	-0.36^***	-0.33^***	-0.48^***	-0.41^***	0.44^***	1
13. T3 Conflic	2.15 ± 1.17	0.03	0.11^***	-0.13^***	-0.21^***	-0.26^***	-0.34^***	-0.45^***	-0.32^***	-0.41^***	-0.49^***	0.36^***	0.50^***	1
14. T1 EPB	1.56 ± 0.51	0.05^*	0.17^***	-0.14^***	-0.21^***	-0.22^***	-0.22^***	-0.20^***	-0.31^***	-0.25^***	-0.23^***	0.31^***	0.26^***	0.22^***	1
15. T2EPB	1.51 ± 0.52	0.06^*	0.12^***	-0.15^***	-0.25^***	-0.21^***	-0.34^***	-0.31^**	-0.30^***	-0.37^***	-0.35^***	0.24^***	0.39^***	0.32^***	0.51^***	1
16. T3 EPB	1.49 ± 0.49	0.11^***	0.10^***	-0.15^***	-0.18^***	-0.19^***	-0.28^***	-0.33^***	-0.27^***	-0.31^***	-0.38^***	0.22^***	0.29^***	0.36^***	0.43^***	0.59^***

Figure 1. A cross-lagged model of head teachers’ negotiation management behavior and students’ externalizing problem behavior.
Note. NMB, head teachers’ negotiation management behavior; EPB, students’ externalizing problem behavior. The cross-lagged model controls for covariates such as students’ age, gender, self-rated family economic status and place of origin, but its path coefficient is not indicated in the graph for the sake of the clarity of the model; in the figure, the single arrow line is the prediction relationship, and the double arrow line is the correlation relationship; the solid line is the significant path, and the dotted line is the nonsignificant path; all path coefficients are standardized. The same below.

Figure 2. A cross-lagged model of head teachers’ negotiation management behavior, teacher-student relationship closeness and students’ externalizing problem behavior.
Note. NMB, head teachers’ negotiation management behavior; Closeness, teacher-student relationship closeness; EPB, students’ externalizing problem behavior. All correlation path coefficients were significant; for the sake of the clarity of the model, they are not indicated in the figure; the same below.

Figure 3. A cross-lagged model of head teachers’ negotiation management behavior, teacher-student relationship conflict and students’externalizing problem behavior.
Note. NMB, head teachers’ negotiation management behavior; Conflict, teacher-student relationship conflict; EPB, students’ externalizing problem behavior.

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